Wofford ranks high on Forbes list of best colleges for women in science, technology, engineering, mathematics

2011-01-04

#14 of ‘schools that are getting it right’

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Wofford College ranks 14th among the nation’s best colleges and universities for women in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, according to Forbes.com.

In a recently released listing of the best colleges for women and minorities in those fields, known colloquially as STEM, Forbes says that “so far, higher education hasn’t done a good job” of helping those two groups succeed in those fields. “These are the schools that are getting it right,” it continues.

Producing more graduates with STEM degrees is an important goal for any college, Forbes says, noting that the majors with the highest starting and mid-career salaries are nearly all STEM degrees, according to Payscale.com’s 2010-2011 College Salary Report.

Forbes notes that, according to the American Council on Education, 57 percent of all college students are women, but women represent only 45 percent of college math majors, 20 percent of computer science majors and 20 percent of engineering majors. A report from the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering showed that only 12.5 percent of the engineering bachelor’s degrees awarded in 2006 went to under-represented minorities, including blacks, Hispanics and American Indians.

“To be fair, colleges are not created equal, and some are doing an excellent job graduating women and minorities with STEM degrees,” Forbes writes. “So we set out to determine the schools that are getting it right.”